Black History Month Celebrations

This year we celebrated Black History Month by looking at African and Caribbean culture.
Each class took part in a workshop which contained a variety of different activities all based around the different cultures.

Some of the activities were material printing, jewellery making and flag painting. Parents also came and joined in the fun. We all had a great time and learnt a lot.

Below are some of the different activities we did and the information we learnt.

African Jewellery
On this table you will be making your own necklace or bracelet using pasta shells, glitter, feathers and gems! Certain African cultures have always placed emphasis on personal appearance and jewellery has remained an important personal accessory. Many pieces of such jewellery are made of cowry shells and similar materials.

Masks
Time to get creative and your own mask! Remember to make it vibrant with lots of patterns and colours! Masks are made with elaborate designs and are an important part of some cultures in Africa. Masks are usually designed to appear human or animal or a combination of the two. They are often decorated with such things as animal hair or straw (for hair and beards), animal horns, animal teeth, feathers, and sea shells.

Music
Create some music of your own by using the drums, bells, shakers and cymbals. The influence of black African music is widespread. It came over to America with the African slaves and combined with the folk music of the European settlers to produce new styles of music such as blues, gospel and jazz. These went on to form the basis of pop music today.

African and Caribbean food
Tickle your taste buds and try some delicious, traditional Afro-Caribbean cuisines including rice and peas, jollof rice and plantain! What flavours can you taste? Can you try and guess some traditional ingredients used in these dishes?